Sound of Noise

When The Sound of Noise ended, I wasn't entirely sure what to think about it. Here is a film so bizarre, with a plot so daffy that it becomes one of those films that you either embrace or reject. It took me quite some time to figure out where I stand with it, and as of now I'm on the embracing side with a few minor reservations.

This is a caper film, but not of the Michael Mann variety. This is something that might make have added Bansky to its thank you's during the closing credits. It involves an unfortunate soul named Amadeus Warnebring, who was born into a family of musical legends. Unfortunately, he was born tone deaf. With that, he grew up and became a detective.

Amadeus seems to be very good at this job, but seems trumped in his current task of tracking down the identities of a terrorist group who have been committing random acts of public disruption. They don't blow things up or hurt anyone, no, they play music at inappropriate places. As the movie opens, the ringleader is being chased through town in a van by the cops while her boyfriend sits in the back and plays the drums in time to a metronome. They act as a sort of Bonnie and Clyde of auditory disruption. What they are doing doesn't seem to make any sense, but what they accomplish is some kind of weird genius.

The crooks get away, and Amadeus is on their trail. We meet the couple, Sanna and Magnus as they work to pull together a masterpiece of musical distraction. They hire four expert drummers, all with differing styles, and determine what objects make the perfect percussive sounds. Their plan is to break into four major institutions, a hospital, a bank, an opera house and high-tension towers and play their music on objects that might be considered non-musical. Each crime will represent a different movement in their composition.

The music isn't especially good, but the audacity with which they commit their dastardly deeds is kind of fun. Attempting to find a purpose behind this might be as futile as trying to understand why clouds look like everyday objects. In the pattern of poetry, it might be said "because it's there." The film has an inevitable sense of humor from which it never recedes. A film this bizarre wouldn't work if it allowed any measure of seriousness to seep in. The scene set in a hospital is the most curious, a the terrorist use the belly of a fat man as one of their instruments and the sound of the oxygen tanks for the tones. The scene at the high-tension towers is the most memorable, with the city's power grid blinking on and off like a bizarre Christmas light display. It is a sight to behold.

If there is a weakness, I'm afraid that it is that this film runs on a bit longer than it should. It is based on a 2001 short film called "Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers" which ran this premise just about as far as it possibly could. This film, at an hour and forty-two minutes, runs its course probably about a half hour longer than it should. Yet, while I complain about the length, I won't complain about the content. I will only say that while it is a good film, not a great one, it succeeded in giving me an experience that I can't say I've ever had before. That's a good thing.

The first scene in the car is unforgettable and brilliant. The character intros are clichés but work well and bring out assured laughs. The premise is far-fetched but ingenious. Art and music terrorism is well explored and the points well taken, although the anarchist approach relies too much on the opposition to classical music in my taste as opposed to perhaps seeing it as an extension or evolution. Classical music is demonized and various forms of pop are frown upon, yet the final song which may be the best one is a popish bossa nova ballad.

The acts of terrorism are in 4 acts of a musical mastermind mayhem. The first one works the best in all aspects and especially musically while the 3 others like the rest of the movie starts to drag. Narratively, some elements are very weak and even if it is a wacky comedy makes for uninteresting moments and unreal connections. I was annoyed at many situations, reactions and characters which may be the case for some viewers.

However this film should still be seen for its inventive premise and many memorable scenes. Some scenes are beautiful and some are truly laugh out loud funny. Have a look at it and decide if you want to fast-forward some of it or claim it to be the next best thing like the Young Critics at Cannes and many others did.

And let there be silence.

This movie is pure joy, musically and cinematically. Just the idea of having six drummers as terrorists, using everyday objects as instruments is so brilliant it doesn't even matter how good or bad the movie is. Fortunately this movie does great at both having an original idea, great characters and beautiful cinematography. The musical numbers is of course awesome, but also the plot line involving the policeman Warnebring is brilliant. You really feel for the character, even if he starts of as the bad guy(kind of), and you also root for him sometimes, even though he tries to stop the musicians. This is an amazing movie experience that I can recommend for everyone who has a heart(cheesy,but true), and can enjoy great cinema.

Viewed at the Festival du Film, Cannes 2010

Now that you've read the plot summary... Okay, a group of drummers terrorise a city with their daring musical 'raids' while a tone deaf, music hating, detective tries to track them down... The Sound of Noise is the kind of dark comedic madness only the Scandinavians do so well: percussionists as musical terrorists laying down the beat for an entire city.

This is a conceit built around the musicians themselves, taking several of their set-piece numbers and weaving them into a narrative structure. In this sense, seen as a film with the classic three act structure, story and character development etc., Sound of Noise is less successful. But as a showcase for amazing musical ability and sheer imagination, this film cannot be beaten.

My husband and I saw this tonight at the Seattle International Film Festival and we can't wait to be able to share it with our friends. The story is simple but endlessly creative: a group of musicians attempt to bring music to a city while a police officer attempts to get some much-needed peace and quiet.

We enjoyed the touches of whimsy and magic and were increasingly impressed by each successive musical experiment. The dialogue, the visual cues, and, yes, the music itself kept us riveted to the screen. The movie was received well by the audience, who rewarded it with hearty laughter in many places and a long round of applause at the end.

This film can be appreciated by everyone, from the highly musical (myself) to the tone-deaf (my husband)!